BRUSSELS: National courts across Europe must determine if Apple‘s contracts linking sales of its Web-surfing iPhone to the networks of specific mobile operators are legal, a European Union regulator has said.

A contract term that limits consumers’ freedom to choose a telecommunications operator for the iPhone, which was introduced in Europe in November, may be seen by a court as “unfair” and not binding on users, the European consumer protection commissioner, Meglena Kuneva, said in a letter released Tuesday.

The iPhone is available in Germany, Britain and France. In Britain and Germany, the device can be purchased only with an exclusive contract with a network operator, while in France, the iPhone is sold either with a contract or, at an additional cost, without exclusive contracts.

A German court ruled in December that the Deutsche Telekom unit T-Mobile could block buyers in Germany from using the iPhone on competitors’ networks. The top European court is expected to rule on whether Belgium’s prohibition against bundling the sales violates an EU consumer-protection law. Apple would be able to offer exclusive contracts if the court rules against Belgium.

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